mostly a good J Arthur

drive-by readings

Knight and Squire #1 (DC) "For Six, Part One" Paul Cornell Jimmy Broxton Guy Major Steve Wands Yanick Paquette/Michel Lacombe/Nathan Fairbairn (cover) Billy Tucci/Hi-Fi (variant cover)

what we learned: England's Batman and Robin get their own book, and who better to chronicle their adventures but British writer Paul Cornell (i totally miss Captain Britain and MI:13). in this first issue, Knight and Squire whoop it up in their version of The Bar With No Name, only this bar is a DMZ for both heroes and villains (and quite a few arcane characters only a British writer can imagine in his sleep). even Wildcat stops by for a pint or two. everything's hunky dory until somebody starts a fire.
oh shit moment: you could hear a pin drop before everything breaks loose. and artist Jimmy Broxton loves himself too much.
what's next: more Britannia!


ggg
they lied! they still sacrifice virgins!

aaaaaaaaaaand ... he's back.

drive-by readings

The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 (DC) "Shadow on Stone" Grant Morrison Chris Sprouse Karl Story Jared Fletcher Guy Major Andy Kubert (cover)

now this is more like it. regardless of how shabby Bruce Wayne's exit was, circa Batman R.I.P./Final Crisis, Grant Morrison's follow-up, Batman & Robin, and now, The Return of Bruce Wayne, is kind of an atonement and are definitely must-reads. it must've looked silly when we all heard about Bats inhabiting different personas as he travels back in time. Cap'n Bat Sparrow? am down with that.

then again, without the preceding storylines, we wouldn't get this.

i like the way Morrison weaves in threads of the Batman mythos into the overall story, and am sure it will be a constant theme all throughout this six-issue series.

and now we know why he's in a cave.

"hey, where you at" may not be exactly what prehistoric tribes used to say in greeting, but it works somehow. Bruce finds a new family of sorts with the deer tribe, not realizing the impact they would play eventually on his destiny.

whatever era a Batman may find himself in, there will always be a Robin of some sort.


and since this is back in the day, who else would the resident bad guy be except Vandal Savage? Morrison's cheats a bit in that Bruce has his utility belt and has some gadgets to use. but is he changing time with all of these encounters?


am not too high on Chris Sprouse's art, because he reserves his best work for Tom Strong LOL. i mean, they had to plug his new series with this book. but hey, its a thrill ride. get onboard!

beat dat, Otto Octavius!

-----
Red Robin #7

thoughts on Batgirl #4

hmmm ... this might be a new recurring post on this blog.

1) Lamest Thing To Say Before Getting Beaten Up


2) Alicia Silverstone, is that you?


3) Even Criminals Extol the Virtues of HDTV! and Blu-Ray!


4) They Don't Make Supervillains Like They Used To


5) Lesbian Make-out Alert!!! (i'm just saying)

drive-by readings: Batgirl #1

Batgirl #1 (DC) "Batgirl Rising: Point of New Origin, Part 1" Bryan Q Miller Lee Garbett Trevor Scott Guy Major John J Hill Phil Noto (cover) Cully Hamner (variant cover)

Batman dies and he doesn't. not only is he immediately replaced, everybody wants to honor him by taking up the fight. the last Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, has now passed the costume on to dun-dun-dun! ... Stephanie Brown, the girlfriend you'd both love and hate to have (ask Tim Drake). anyway, "The Spoiler" is not exactly a fear-inducing name (i'm sure moviegoers would be asking her to leave the theater!), so "Batgirl" it is. too bad that's the only non-conflicting point around here, as Stephanie struggles with keeping a normal life, and the high of flashing that Bat symbol while knocking out thugs around Gotham. yep, that would make any boyfriend feel a little shriveled in his pants. speaking of boyfriends, the original Batgirl is in here too and why the hell doesn't she just hook up with the current Batman? (oh, that's right, Dick Grayson is no slouch with the ladies - right, Kori?) what she does is just figure out immediately who this new Batgirl running around town is and goes to give her a talking-to. the odds are 5-to-1 she'll still be the Oracle to Steph's crimefighter. Gotham is probably the city with the highest crime rate, as despite the talents of the Bat family, the city's no better than it was before. it's like all the country's criminals migrated to Gotham and stayed there. which means everyone should leave. but i digress. we have a new Batgirl, and she's not shy about sticking her chest out like Supergirl.

drive-by readings: Red Robin #1

Red Robin #01 (DC) "The Grail, Part 1 of 4" Christopher Yost Ramon Bachs Guy Major Sal Cipriano Francis Manapul (cover)

look who's on a Eurotrip (minus the creepy Italian commuter) - its The Artist Formerly Known as Robin/Tim Drake. now donning the Red Robin mantle, Tim Wayne embarks on a quest to find his legal father - you know, the one who used to wear a rodent costume and scared criminals shitless. yeah, you and i think he's nuts, but what's an orphan (a muscled athlete entering his prime with more money than God, but still an orphan) to do? he's not gonna join a gang of thieves now, is he? no, he'd rather leave a trail of bodies across Madrid and Paris in his search for Daddy. especially since he punched out Damian for dissing him (precious on both counts). of course, Damian's immortal-ish grampa (check him out at lazaruspit.com) doesn't take kindly to somebody slapping around his kin. yeah, you're a dead bird, Tim.

general anarky

regardless of whatever he calls himself, Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong needs a serious ass-whupping.


this is Robin making his case to earn the mantle of the Bat. we can't wait for the takedown.

-----
Robin #181